Nurse Competence Scale: a systematic and psychometric review

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Professional Development

Background:

• The Nurse Competence Scale (NCS) is the primary generic tool for assessing Registered Nurses' (RNs) competence across their careers.
• A decade of research supports the NCS, highlighting its widespread use and importance in evaluating nursing practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the existing evidence on the Nurse Competence Scale.
• To conduct a psychometric review of the Nurse Competence Scale.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review encompassing research evidence and psychometric properties of the NCS.
• Searched nine databases from 2004 to October 2015 for English and Finnish scientific publications.
• Data selection and quality appraisal performed by two researchers using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist.

Main Results:

• Thirty studies (43 publications) involving over 11,000 competence assessments were included.
• The NCS is utilized for experienced nurses, newly graduated nurses, and nursing students, primarily in hospital settings.
• Positive correlations found between competence and work experience, age, higher education, permanent employment, and educational programs.
• Empowerment, commitment, practice environment, quality of care, and critical thinking were associated with higher competence.
• The NCS demonstrated good content validity and appropriate internal consistency.

Conclusions:

• The Nurse Competence Scale's value is confirmed in linking background variables to nursing competence.
• The instrument is widely adopted by experienced nurses, new graduates, and their managers.
• Further cross-cultural validation of the Nurse Competence Scale is recommended using rigorous methodologies.